Expressionist art has a reputation for being angsty. While this impression is helped along by the term's later association with cinema, certainly expressionism can go to some dark emotional places. Still, that's just one aspect of it.
August Macke's "Gartenbild" of "Garden Picture" shows a different side. On a sunny day, a mother works in the garden while her small daughter plays nearby. The town, represented by the houses in the background, is bright and colorful. Nature, represented by the green plants, is powerful, yes. But it's benign and cooperative as well.
Macke's work often showed affection for his Westphalian home and excitement for the world at large. The outbreak of war darkened his mood noticeably. Sad to say, he was almost immediately killed in that war. One can only wonder what he might have painted otherwise.
3 comments:
I'm not sure where you may have found this one but it is a lovely and very serene painting. One of the most remarkable aspects of Macke's work was his ability to incorporate and reinterpret the artwork of other artists and schools of art and design. He painted in every style extant at the time while expanding all of them - he enhanced their vision.
That he painted more than 150 pictures and over 750 drawings besides sculptures, prints, craftwork and designs was an amazing accomplishment in such a short time. It's unbelievably sad that he died so young.
I did find a couple of websites you might enjoy checking out:
https://www.august-macke-haus.de/en/august-macke/life-and-work.html
https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/august-macke/
I don't remember where I got this particular image. I do know that I had another Macke painting pinned to Pinterest and that led me to look at more of his stuf fin general. You're right about his talent. He had the ability to learn from other artists and work in their styles without just copying.
He had years of painting to do, as well as just plain living. The world really lost something when he died so young.
The German biography site (which luckily has an English translation) is a nice resource. One painting on there has a very Van Gogh quality. Quite sad that he left behind a wife and young son too.
Post a Comment